The Toronto Maple Leafs made Gavin McKenna the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, putting the most talented player in this class at the center of the first round. McKenna, listed as a left wing for Penn State Univ. in the NCAA, goes first after a draft in which the order was set by the selection sequence itself: each team picked where it landed, and the first four choices came off the board without any trade changing the top of the board.
That is why McKenna is the name drawing the most attention now. The scouting view on him is not subtle. He is described as a player with off-the-charts puck skills, vision and offensive creativity, a strong skater who can create chances with pace and a winger who can run a power play at a high level because of his playmaking. He also has the best scoring track record over his amateur career, which helps explain why the Maple Leafs chose him first.
McKenna has also shown why evaluators trust him in pressure moments. He has been a leader on his team and has shown up in big moments, traits that matter when a club is betting the first pick on more than raw talent. The Leafs are not just getting skill; they are getting a player who has repeatedly been part of the biggest plays around him.
Still, the first overall label does not erase the questions attached to him. McKenna is not overly physical, and he can be pushed to the outside too much, which leaves his game dependent on whether he can win enough space against NHL defenders. That is the main crack in an otherwise clean case for taking him first: the talent is obvious, but the compete level and how often he can stay inside the play will shape how quickly it shows up at the next level.
The rest of the top of the draft followed the same first-round logic. The San Jose Sharks took Ivar Stenberg with the No. 2 pick, the Vancouver Canucks selected Caleb Malhotra at No. 3 and the Buffalo Sabres added Daxon Rudolph at No. 4. For now, though, the draft belongs to McKenna and to a Leafs organization that used the opening pick to secure the prospect viewed as the class’s top offensive player.
